This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1991.
March 16 — The country music world is stunned when seven members of Reba McEntire's band and her road manager are killed in a plane crash in California. McEntire - who traveled separately - recorded her album, For My Broken Heart in their memory.
August 16 — Holly Dunn asks that radio stations withdraw her single "Maybe I Mean Yes" due to listener complaints that its lyrics condone date rape.
August 30 — Country music pioneer, Dottie West is seriously injured while en route to a Grand Ole Opry performance in Nashville, Tennessee. Her fans and contemporaries are deeply saddened when she dies of her injuries September 4 at a Nashville hospital. President George H. W. Bush sends his condolences to the country music world during the CMA Awards later that year.
September 28 — Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks becomes the first album to debut at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 Albums charts. The album, Brooks' third, vaults the 29-year-old singer into superstardom and goes on to sell 16 million copies worldwide. The album became the second best selling album of all genres in 1991, coming in second to Mariah Carey's debut album.
November 24 — Hot Country Nights begins a one-season run on NBC. The series was created to cash in on the exploding popularity of country music, and showcased several acts on each episode; featured on the premiere were Alabama, Clint Black, K.T. Oslin, Kenny Rogers and Pam Tillis. The series did not catch on in the ratings and is canceled at the end of the season.
Naomi Judd announces she had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C, a potentially fatal chronic liver disease, and would be retiring from touring with daughter Wynonna at the end of the year. The resulting "Farewell" tour becomes the year's top-grossing act in country music and ends with a New Year's Eve pay-per-view concert.
"SoundScan" is introduced, providing more accurate Billboard magazine chart ratings that are based on actual sales. Immediate evidence proved country music had a much bigger audience than previously thought.
Eight acts have their first Billboard No. 1 songs, including Mark Chesnutt, Mike Reid, Alan Jackson, Doug Stone, Diamond Rio, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks & Dunn and Lionel Cartwright. Three of those - Diamond Rio, Yearwood and Brooks & Dunn - turn the trick with their first national release; Reid's first solo release also hit the top of the chart, but he had hit the Top 5 as part of a duet with Ronnie Milsap (1988's "Old Folks") three years earlier.
Hee Haw (1969-1993, syndicated)
Hot Country Nights (1991-1992, NBC)
September 9 – Hunter Hayes, country-pop singer/multi-instrumentalist of the early 2010s best known for his crossover hit "Wanted"
December 29 – Shay Mooney, member of Dan + Shay, a rising duo of the 2010s.
February 24 — Webb Pierce, 69, honky tonk stylist and pioneer (congestive heart failure).
March 16 — Chris Austin, 27, member of Reba McEntire's road band (plane crash).
September 4 — Dottie West, 58, legendary and pioneering female vocalist for over three decades (auto accident).
October 17 — Tennessee Ernie Ford, 72, "The Old Pea Picker;" pop-country singer and TV host best known for "Sixteen Tons" (liver failure).
Boudleaux & Felice Bryant (Boudleaux Bryant 1920-1987 and Felice (Scaduto) Bryant 1925-2003)
Rhythm Pals
A. Hugh Joseph
Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Down at the Twist and Shout," Mary Chapin Carpenter
Best Male Country Vocal Performance — Ropin' the Wind, Garth Brooks
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Love Can Build a Bridge," The Judds
Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "Restless," Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Vince Gill
Best Country Instrumental Performance — The New Nashville Cats, Mark O'Connor
Best Country Song — "Love Can Build a Bridge," John Jarvis, Naomi Judd and Paul Overstreet
Best Bluegrass Album — "Spring Training," Carl Jackson and John Starling
Country Male Vocalist of the Year — George Fox
Country Female Vocalist of the Year — Cassandra Vasik
Country Group or Duo of the Year — Prairie Oyster
Entertainer of the Year — Garth Brooks
Song of the Year — "Somewhere in My Broken Heart" Billy Dean and Richard Leigh (Performer: Billy Dean)
Single of the Year — "Don't Rock the Jukebox," Alan Jackson
Album of the Year — Don't Rock the Jukebox, Alan Jackson
Top Male Vocalist — Garth Brooks
Top Female Vocalist — Reba McEntire
Top Vocal Duo — Brooks & Dunn
Top Vocal Group — Diamond Rio
Top New Male Vocalist — Billy Dean
Top New Female Vocalist — Trisha Yearwood
Top New Vocal Duo or Group — Brooks & Dunn
Video of the Year — "Is There Life Out There," Reba McEntire (Director: Jack Cole)
Bud Country Fans' Choice Award — Rita MacNeil
Male Artist of the Year — George Fox
Female Artist of the Year — Michelle Wright
Group of the Year — Prairie Oyster
SOCAN Song of the Year — "Lonely You, Lonely Me," Joan Besen
Single of the Year — "New Kind of Love," Michelle Wright
Album of the Year — Michelle Wright, Michelle Wright
Top Selling Album — Home I'll Be, Rita MacNeil
Video of the Year — "Springtime in Alberta," Ian Tyson
Vista Rising Star Award — South Mountain
Duo of the Year — The Johner Brothers
Entertainer of the Year — Garth Brooks
Song of the Year — "When I Call Your Name," Tim DuBois and Vince Gill (Performer: Vince Gill)
Single of the Year — "Friends in Low Places," Garth Brooks
Album of the Year — No Fences, Garth Brooks
Male Vocalist of the Year — Vince Gill
Female Vocalist of the Year — Tanya Tucker
Horizon Award — Travis Tritt
Vocal Duo of the Year — The Judds
Vocal Group of the Year — The Kentucky Headhunters
Vocal Event of the Year — "Restless," Vince Gill, Mark O'Connor, Ricky Skaggs and Steve Wariner
Music Video of the Year — "The Thunder Rolls," Garth Brooks (Director: Bud Schaetzle)
Musician of the Year — Mark O'Connor
Country Music Association
Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame
1991 in country music Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA